Such gates are installed in small sluices formed, for example, between a canal, termed a feeder or apportioning canal, and a plurality of distribution canals serving the various sections of the tract which are to be irrigated in succession or in groups of sections, whether sequentially layed out or not, at the farmer's discretion.
The means classically provided in the prior art for the purpose of distributing irrigation water are "trap door" type devices which are raised or lowered by hand to open or close the sluices, or compact, flat sector gates similarly operated by hand to yield a maximum flow or a null or nearly-null flow through the sluices. Large sector gates are motor-driven and in some, rare cases are controlled by automatic means.
For the purposes mentioned previously hereinabove, small gates can be driven by motors or servomotors. However, the power required to drive each of the gates means that a power line must be installed alongside the feeder canal.
The object of the present invention is to provide a compact sluice gate having a particularly simple and rugged structure, the individual opening and closing whereof is done by means not requiring any sort of power line to be installed in the installation or works of which it is comprised and which requires no special adjustment or maintenance.